I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
Have you ever worked on a project and then re-worked it many times over hoping to get something just perfect? Then by the time you finish you realize that the world has changed and the idea has passed you by. Or worse, someone has already done what you’ve been planning to do. Nothing you do will ever be perfect. That’s a tough and necessary pill to swallow. Put your heart into it, roll up your sleeves, and get your ideas out into the world. That’s the place where they will make a difference.
We have been waiting for you, Spring, with open arms. Welcome. Please stay as long as you’d like. I can’t wait until you’ve decorated Central Park to look like this picture. Ah…..the beauty.
A friend of mine recently ripped off my work and presented it as her own. I didn’t realize she’d done this until I read about it in a magazine. I didn’t wallow. I just walked away and left it in karma’s capable hands. Here is the greatest lesson I learned: grace and dignity are choices. Sh*t is going to happen to you. The sh*t isn’t what defines you. It’s how you handle it that makes all the difference. Turn the beat around.
“Watch with glittering eyes.” ~ Roald Dahl. Winter is back. Again. It can’t bear to leave us. I’m as over it as anyone and preparing for a serious case of Spring fever when Spring finally gets here. In the mean time, I’m trying to enjoy these last chilly days hunkered down in my apartment. Winter has been a time for me to get my dreams on track while also helping me appreciate the sun and the warmth when it does arrive. The sun’s always out there. So are the stars. Keep looking for them and you’re sure to find them.
Today I turn a fabulous 38 and I’m doing…nothing. It’s me, my dog, Phineas, and the start of my House of Cards addiction. Saint Patrick’s Day in New York City is always a bit of a mess so I’m more than happy to spend it relaxing. Your birthday is your day to just be. To enjoy. To reflect. To do anything you want. No to-do list. No deadlines. Just celebrate you, exactly as you are.
If you haven’t seen the documentary 20 Feet from Stardom about the history of backup singers, you must. Their stories of passion, music, persistence, and dedication will make you cry, laugh, and reflect on your own life and talents. Here’s the best thing I learned from it: you must shine your own light on your talent. You can’t wait for nor expect someone else to do it.
I’m in the midst of reading Dr. Michio Kaku‘s new book, The Future of the Mind. He explains that our actual vision is largely imagined. Our optic nerve should always create a large dark spot in our field of vision. It doesn’t because our mind actually compensates for it and fills in the details. Our mind guesses what’s there in that space that the eyes can’t actually see. We are imagining every moment of our waking lives. We are using our creativity without even realizing it. That’s how deeply embedded our sense of creativity is in our minds, in our very being. We invent the world around us.
You will be presented with an opportunity and a choice: do you jump at the chance or let it pass you by? I’ve found that this is the most consistent circumstance that arises in my life. Do I hesitate and turn back or do I dive in and start pedaling like hell? And why? Hesitating and debating has never brought me much of anything I wanted. I’m happiest in action. It’s when I’m most alive, free, and grateful. In action, I am my very best me.
Circumstances can be joyous or heartbreaking, happy or devastating. Whether or not an experience is fortunate or unfortunate is largely a matter of my perspective and choice.
I was trying to solve a few challenges over the weekend. My brother-in-law suggested we go to the Met at night before they close. He wanted to sketch a few statues so I took myself for a walk in the Eastern art section. As soon as I started to walk, completely alone with my thoughts, the answers to those challenges started to bubble up to the surface. I was reminded again that walking shakes my thoughts free. I have to walk to think and see clearly. It helps me make sense of all of the jumbled pieces of a situation and then I’m able to better see how well they fit together in a different configuration than the one I’ve been trying to construct. That’s all it takes – 20 minutes and the open road. Simple tools. Powerful results.
Christa Avampato 